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Baev V, Gecheva G, Apostolova E, Gozmanova M, Yahubyan G. Exploring the Metatranscriptome of Bacterial Communities of Two Moss Species Thriving in Different Environments-Terrestrial and Aquatic. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1210. [PMID: 38732425 PMCID: PMC11085137 DOI: 10.3390/plants13091210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Mosses host diverse bacterial communities essential for their fitness, nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance, and pathogen defense. Understanding the microbiome's taxonomic composition is the first step, but unraveling their functional capabilities is crucial for grasping their ecological significance. Metagenomics characterizes microbial communities by composition, while metatranscriptomics explores gene expression, providing insights into microbiome functionality beyond the structure. Here, we present for the first time a metatranscriptomic study of two moss species, Hypnum cupressiforme (Hedw.) and Platyhypnidium riparioides (Hedw.) Dixon., renowned as key biomonitors of atmospheric and water pollution. Our investigation extends beyond taxonomic profiling and offers a profound exploration of moss bacterial communities. Pseudomonadota and Actinobacteria are the dominant bacterial phyla in both moss species, but their proportions differ. In H. cupressiforme, Actinobacteria make up 62.45% and Pseudomonadota 32.48%, while in P. riparioides, Actinobacteria account for only 25.67% and Pseudomonadota 69.08%. This phylum-level contrast is reflected in genus-level differences. Our study also shows the expression of most genes related to nitrogen cycling across both microbiomes. Additionally, functional annotation highlights disparities in pathway prevalence, including carbon dioxide fixation, photosynthesis, and fatty acid biosynthesis, among others. These findings hint at potential metabolic distinctions between microbial communities associated with different moss species, influenced by their specific genotypes and habitats. The integration of metatranscriptomic data holds promise for enhancing our understanding of bryophyte-microbe partnerships, opening avenues for novel applications in conservation, bioremediation, and sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vesselin Baev
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv, Tzar Assen 24, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (E.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Gana Gecheva
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv, Tzar Assen 24, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Elena Apostolova
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv, Tzar Assen 24, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (E.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Mariyana Gozmanova
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv, Tzar Assen 24, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (E.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Galina Yahubyan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv, Tzar Assen 24, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (E.A.); (M.G.)
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2
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Fischer MS, Patel NJ, de Lorimier PJ, Traxler MF. Prescribed fire selects for a pyrophilous soil sub-community in a northern California mixed conifer forest. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:2498-2515. [PMID: 37553729 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Prescribed fire is a critical strategy for mitigating the effects of catastrophic wildfires. While the above-ground response to fire has been well-documented, fewer studies have addressed the effect of prescribed fire on soil microorganisms. To understand how soil microbial communities respond to prescribed fire, we sampled four plots at a high temporal resolution (two burned, two controls), for 17 months, in a mixed conifer forest in northern California, USA. Using amplicon sequencing, we found that prescribed fire significantly altered both fungal and bacterial community structure. We found that most differentially abundant fungal taxa had a positive fold-change, while differentially abundant bacterial taxa generally had a negative fold-change. We tested the null hypothesis that these communities assembled due to neutral processes (i.e., drift and/or dispersal), finding that >90% of taxa fit this neutral prediction. However, a dynamic sub-community composed of burn-associated indicator taxa that were positively differentially abundant was enriched for non-neutral amplicon sequence variants, suggesting assembly via deterministic processes. In synthesizing these results, we identified 15 pyrophilous taxa with a significant and positive response to prescribed burns. Together, these results lay the foundation for building a process-driven understanding of microbial community assembly in the context of the classical disturbance regime of fire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika S Fischer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Neem J Patel
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Phillip J de Lorimier
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Matthew F Traxler
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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Yin X, Martineau C, Samad A, Fenton NJ. Out of site, out of mind: Changes in feather moss phyllosphere microbiota in mine offsite boreal landscapes. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1148157. [PMID: 37089542 PMCID: PMC10113616 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1148157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant-microbe interactions play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecological services in boreal forest biomes. Mining for minerals, and especially the emission of heavy metal-enriched dust from mine sites, is a potential threat to biodiversity in offsite landscapes. Understanding the impacts of mining on surrounding phyllosphere microbiota is especially lacking. To investigate this, we characterized bacterial and fungal communities in the phyllosphere of feather moss Pleurozium schreberi (Brid). Mitt in boreal landscapes near six gold mine sites at different stages of the mine lifecycle. We found that (1) both mining stage and ecosystem type are drivers of the phyllosphere microbial community structure in mine offsite landscapes; (2) Bacterial alpha diversity is more sensitive than fungal alpha diversity to mining stage, while beta diversity of both groups is impacted; (3) mixed and deciduous forests have a higher alpha diversity and a distinct microbial community structure when compared to coniferous and open canopy ecosystems; (4) the strongest effects are detectable within 0.2 km from operating mines. These results confirmed the presence of offsite effects of mine sites on the phyllosphere microbiota in boreal forests, as well as identified mining stage and ecosystem type as drivers of these effects. Furthermore, the footprint was quantified at 0.2 km, providing a reference distance within which mining companies and policy makers should pay more attention during ecological assessment and for the development of mitigation strategies. Further studies are needed to assess how these offsite effects of mines affect the functioning of boreal ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangbo Yin
- NSERC-UQAT Industrial Chair in Northern Biodiversity in a Mining Context, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt, Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts (IRF), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Xiangbo Yin,
| | - Christine Martineau
- NSERC-UQAT Industrial Chair in Northern Biodiversity in a Mining Context, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Abdul Samad
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Nicole J. Fenton
- NSERC-UQAT Industrial Chair in Northern Biodiversity in a Mining Context, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt, Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts (IRF), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
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4
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García-Carmona M, Lepinay C, García-Orenes F, Baldrian P, Arcenegui V, Cajthaml T, Mataix-Solera J. Moss biocrust accelerates the recovery and resilience of soil microbial communities in fire-affected semi-arid Mediterranean soils. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 846:157467. [PMID: 35868386 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
After wildfires in Mediterranean ecosystems, ruderal mosses are pioneer species, stabilizing the soil surface previous to the establishment of vascular vegetation. However, little is known about the implication of pioneer moss biocrusts for the recovery and resilience of soils in early post-fire stages in semi-arid areas. Therefore, we studied the effects of the burgeoning biocrust on soil physicochemical and biochemical properties and the diversity and composition of microbial communities after a moderate-to-high wildfire severity. Seven months after the wildfire, the biocrust softened the strong impact of the fire in soils, affecting the diversity and composition of bacteria and fungi community compared to the uncrusted soils exposed to unfavourable environmental stress. Soil moisture, phosphorous, and enzyme activities representing the altered biogeochemical cycles after the fire, were the main explanatory variables for biocrust microbial community composition under the semi-arid conditions. High bacterial diversity was found in soils under mosses, while long-lasting legacies are expected in the fungal community, which showed greater sensitivity to the fire. The composition of bacterial and fungal communities at several taxonomical levels was profoundly altered by the presence of the moss biocrust, showing a rapid successional transition toward the unburned soil community. Pioneer moss biocrust play an important role improving the resilience of soil microbial communities. In the context of increasing fire intensity, studying the moss biocrust effects on the recovery of soils microbiome is essential to understanding the resistance and resilience of Mediterranean forests to wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minerva García-Carmona
- GEA-Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain.
| | - Clémentine Lepinay
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Fuensanta García-Orenes
- GEA-Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Petr Baldrian
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Victoria Arcenegui
- GEA-Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Tomáš Cajthaml
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jorge Mataix-Solera
- GEA-Environmental Soil Science Group, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain
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5
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Bowd EJ, Banks SC, Bissett A, May TW, Lindenmayer DB. Disturbance alters the forest soil microbiome. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:419-447. [PMID: 34687569 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Billions of microorganisms perform critical below-ground functions in all terrestrial ecosystems. While largely invisible to the naked eye, they support all higher lifeforms, form symbiotic relationships with ~90% of terrestrial plant species, stabilize soils, and facilitate biogeochemical cycles. Global increases in the frequency of disturbances are driving major changes in the structure and function of forests. However, despite their functional significance, the disturbance responses of forest microbial communities are poorly understood. Here, we explore the influence of disturbance on the soil microbiome (archaea, fungi and bacteria) of some of the world's tallest and most carbon-dense forests, the Mountain Ash forests of south-eastern Australia. From 80 sites, we identified 23,277 and 19,056 microbial operational taxonomic units from the 0-10 cm and 20-30 cm depths of soil respectively. From this extensive data set, we found the diversity and composition of these often cryptic communities has been altered by human and natural disturbance events. For instance, the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi declined with clearcut logging, the diversity of archaea declined with salvage logging, and bacterial diversity and overall microbial diversity declined with the number of fires. Moreover, we identified key associations between edaphic (soil properties), environmental (slope, elevation) and spatial variables and the composition of all microbial communities. Specifically, we found that soil pH, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and nitrate were associated with the composition of all microbial communities. In a period of widespread degradation of global forest ecosystems, our findings provide an important and timely insight into the disturbance responses of soil microbial communities, which may influence key ecological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elle J Bowd
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Sam C Banks
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.,College of Engineering, IT and the Environment, Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia
| | - Andrew Bissett
- The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Tom W May
- Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David B Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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6
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Bowd EJ, Banks SC, Bissett A, May TW, Lindenmayer DB. Direct and indirect disturbance impacts in forests. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1225-1236. [PMID: 33830614 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Human and natural disturbances are key drivers of change in forest ecosystems. Yet, the direct and indirect mechanisms which underpin these changes remain poorly understood at the ecosystem level. Here, using structural equation modelling across a 150+ year chronosequence, we disentangle the direct and indirect effects of major disturbances in a temperate forest ecosystem. We show that wildfires, logging and post-fire (salvage) logging can affect plant and microbial communities and abiotic soil properties both directly and indirectly through plant-soil-microbial interactions. We quantified 68 direct and indirect disturbance effects across these components, with the majority resulting in ecosystem-wide adverse effects. Indirect disturbance effects accounted for 43% of total disturbance effects, with some amplifying or partially mitigating direct disturbance effects. Overall, human disturbances were associated with more negative effects than natural disturbances. Our analyses provide novel insights into the multifaceted dynamics of forest disturbances and the mechanisms which underpin their relative impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elle J Bowd
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Sam C Banks
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.,Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods, College of Engineering, IT and the Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, 0909, Australia
| | - Andrew Bissett
- The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, TAS, 700, Australia
| | - Tom W May
- Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Birdwood Ave, Melbourne, Vic., 3004, Australia
| | - David B Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
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7
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Holland-Moritz H, Stuart JEM, Lewis LR, Miller SN, Mack MC, Ponciano JM, McDaniel SF, Fierer N. The bacterial communities of Alaskan mosses and their contributions to N 2-fixation. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:53. [PMID: 33622403 PMCID: PMC7903681 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01001-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mosses in high-latitude ecosystems harbor diverse bacterial taxa, including N2-fixers which are key contributors to nitrogen dynamics in these systems. Yet the relative importance of moss host species, and environmental factors, in structuring these microbial communities and their N2-fixing potential remains unclear. We studied 26 boreal and tundra moss species across 24 sites in Alaska, USA, from 61 to 69° N. We used cultivation-independent approaches to characterize the variation in moss-associated bacterial communities as a function of host species identity and site characteristics. We also measured N2-fixation rates via 15N2 isotopic enrichment and identified potential N2-fixing bacteria using available literature and genomic information. RESULTS Host species identity and host evolutionary history were both highly predictive of moss microbiome composition, highlighting strong phylogenetic coherence in these microbial communities. Although less important, light availability and temperature also influenced composition of the moss microbiome. Finally, we identified putative N2-fixing bacteria specific to some moss hosts, including potential N2-fixing bacteria outside well-studied cyanobacterial clades. CONCLUSIONS The strong effect of host identity on moss-associated bacterial communities demonstrates mosses' utility for understanding plant-microbe interactions in non-leguminous systems. Our work also highlights the likely importance of novel bacterial taxa to N2-fixation in high-latitude ecosystems. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Holland-Moritz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA
| | - Julia E. M. Stuart
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and the Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | - Lily R. Lewis
- Provost’s Office, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Samantha N. Miller
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and the Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | - Michelle C. Mack
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and the Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | | | | | - Noah Fierer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO USA
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8
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Adkins J, Docherty KM, Gutknecht JLM, Miesel JR. How do soil microbial communities respond to fire in the intermediate term? Investigating direct and indirect effects associated with fire occurrence and burn severity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 745:140957. [PMID: 32736103 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Fires transform soil microbial communities directly via heat-induced mortality and indirectly by altering plant and soil characteristics. Emerging evidence suggests the magnitude of changes to some plant and soil properties increases with burn severity, but the persistence of changes varies among plant and soil characteristics, ranging from months to years post-fire. Thus, which environmental attributes shape microbial communities at intermediate time points during ecosystem recovery, and how these characteristics vary with severity, remains poorly understood. We identified the network of properties that influence microbial communities three years after fire, along a burn severity gradient in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest. We used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and bacterial 16S-rDNA amplicon sequencing to characterize the microbial community in mineral soil. Using structural equation modelling, we applied a systems approach to identifying the interconnected relationships among severity, vegetation, soil, and microbial communities. Dead tree basal area, soil pH, and extractable phosphorus increased with severity, whereas live tree basal area, forest floor mass, and the proportion of the ≥53 μm soil fraction decreased. Forest floor loss was associated with decreased soil moisture across the severity gradient, decreased live tree basal area was associated with increased shrub coverage, and increased dead tree basal area was associated with increases in total and inorganic soil nitrogen. Soil fungal abundance decreased across the severity gradient, despite a slightly positive response of fungi to lower soil moisture in high severity areas. Bacterial phylogenetic diversity was negatively related to severity and was driven by differences in nutrients and soil texture. The abundance of Bacteroidetes increased and the abundance of Acidobacteria decreased across the severity gradient due to differences in soil pH. Overall, we found that the effects of burn severity on vegetation and soil physicochemical characteristics interact to shape microbial communities at an intermediate time point in ecosystem recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaron Adkins
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Kathryn M Docherty
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - Jessica L M Gutknecht
- Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Jessica R Miesel
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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9
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Reis MP, Suhadolnik MLS, Dias MF, Ávila MP, Motta AM, Barbosa FAR, Nascimento AMA. Characterizing a riverine microbiome impacted by extreme disturbance caused by a mining sludge tsunami. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 253:126584. [PMID: 32278186 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Studies on disturbance events in riverine systems caused by environmental disasters and their effects on microbial diversity are scarce. Here, we evaluated the impact of the collapse of an iron ore dam holding approximately 50 million cubic meters of waste on both water and sediment microbiomes by deeply sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Samples were taken from two impacted rivers and one reference river 7, 30 and 150 days postdisturbance. The impacted community structure changed greatly over spatiotemporal scales, being less diverse and more uneven, particularly on day 7 for the do Carmo River (the closest to the dam). However, the reference community structure remained similar between sampling events. Moreover, the impacted sediments were positively correlated with metals. The taxa abundance varied greatly over spatiotemporal scales, allowing for the identification of several potential bioindicators, e.g., Comamonadaceae, Novosphingobium, Sediminibacterium and Bacteriovorax. Our results showed that the impacted communities consisted mostly of Fe(II) oxidizers and Fe(III) reducers, aromatic compound degraders and predator bacteria. Network analysis showed a highly interconnected microbiome whose interactions switched from positive to negative or vice versa between the impacted and reference communities. This work revealed potential molecular signatures associated with the rivers heavily impacted by metals that might be useful sentinels for predicting riverine health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana P Reis
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Maria Luíza S Suhadolnik
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Marcela F Dias
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Marcelo P Ávila
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Amanda M Motta
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Francisco A R Barbosa
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Andréa M A Nascimento
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil.
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10
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Kidron GJ, Xiao B, Benenson I. Data variability or paradigm shift? Slow versus fast recovery of biological soil crusts-a review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 721:137683. [PMID: 32197290 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts, known also as biocrusts, provide valuable ecosystem services, especially in arid and semiarid regions. They may affect geomorphological (stability), hydrological (infiltration, evaporation), biochemical (carbon and nitrogen fixation) and ecological (germination and growth of vascular plants) processes, and their disturbance may have important ecological consequences. The common view, as reflected in hundreds of papers, regards biocrusts as having extremely slow recovery with characteristic time of up to hundreds and even thousands of years. Long recovery time implies that disturbance or climate change may have severe long-lasting consequences even once the conditions return to their initial state, triggering ample efforts to hasten biocrust recovery by inoculation. We critically analyze available estimates of the crust recovery time and present systematic measurements and theoretical considerations that attest to relatively rapid recovery of the crusts. We conclude that the likely recovery time of cyanobacterial crusts is 5-10 years, while that of lichen- and moss-dominated crusts is 10-20 years. Subsequently, costly and potentially negative effects to the ecosystem during inoculation should be weighed against the fast natural recovery of the biocrusts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giora J Kidron
- Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University, Givat Ram Campus, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
| | - Bo Xiao
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
| | - Itzhak Benenson
- Department of Geography and Human Environment, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
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11
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Day NJ, Dunfield KE, Johnstone JF, Mack MC, Turetsky MR, Walker XJ, White AL, Baltzer JL. Wildfire severity reduces richness and alters composition of soil fungal communities in boreal forests of western Canada. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:2310-2324. [PMID: 30951220 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2018] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire is the dominant disturbance in boreal forests and fire activity is increasing in these regions. Soil fungal communities are important for plant growth and nutrient cycling postfire but there is little understanding of how fires impact fungal communities across landscapes, fire severity gradients, and stand types in boreal forests. Understanding relationships between fungal community composition, particularly mycorrhizas, and understory plant composition is therefore important in predicting how future fire regimes may affect vegetation. We used an extreme wildfire event in boreal forests of Canada's Northwest Territories to test drivers of fungal communities and assess relationships with plant communities. We sampled soils from 39 plots 1 year after fire and 8 unburned plots. High-throughput sequencing (MiSeq, ITS) revealed 2,034 fungal operational taxonomic units. We found soil pH and fire severity (proportion soil organic layer combusted), and interactions between these drivers were important for fungal community structure (composition, richness, diversity, functional groups). Where fire severity was low, samples with low pH had higher total fungal, mycorrhizal, and saprotroph richness compared to where severity was high. Increased fire severity caused declines in richness of total fungi, mycorrhizas, and saprotrophs, and declines in diversity of total fungi and mycorrhizas. The importance of stand age (a surrogate for fire return interval) for fungal composition suggests we could detect long-term successional patterns even after fire. Mycorrhizal and plant community composition, richness, and diversity were weakly but significantly correlated. These weak relationships and the distribution of fungi across plots suggest that the underlying driver of fungal community structure is pH, which is modified by fire severity. This study shows the importance of edaphic factors in determining fungal community structure at large scales, but suggests these patterns are mediated by interactions between fire and forest stand composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J Day
- Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Jill F Johnstone
- University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
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12
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Multiple, Compounding Disturbances in a Forest Ecosystem: Fire Increases Susceptibility of Soil Edaphic Properties, Bacterial Community Structure, and Function to Change with Extreme Precipitation Event. SOIL SYSTEMS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/soilsystems3020040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The intensity and frequency of ecosystem disturbances are shifting with climate change, and multiple disturbances in close succession have the potential to compound their independent effects and strongly alter ecosystem structure and function. In this paper, we examine the effects of an extreme precipitation event on a montane forest landscape that was previously decimated by wildfire (37 months prior) relative to an unburned site in the same ecosystem. We assessed responses in soil edaphic properties, bacterial community composition and assembly, and soil enzyme activities involved in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) acquisition. Our research reveals that previously burned landscapes are susceptible to a subsequent extreme precipitation event via significant increases in soil pH where unburned soils are not. Beta- and Delta-proteobacteria associated with early succession increased and shifts were observed in N- vs. C-acquiring extracellular enzymes within burned soils after the extreme precipitation event. Finally, we connected variation in ecological selective pressures on bacterial communities associated with pH change to these differences in microbial mediated soil enzyme activity. Thus, this research demonstrates how multiple, compounding disturbances drive distinct changes relative to systems experiencing a single disturbance and suggests that changes in bacterial community assembly process with disturbance may underlie this response.
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13
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Holland-Moritz H, Stuart J, Lewis LR, Miller S, Mack MC, McDaniel SF, Fierer N. Novel bacterial lineages associated with boreal moss species. Environ Microbiol 2018; 20:2625-2638. [PMID: 29901277 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Mosses are critical components of boreal ecosystems where they typically account for a large proportion of net primary productivity and harbour diverse bacterial communities that can be the major source of biologically-fixed nitrogen in these ecosystems. Despite their ecological importance, we have limited understanding of how microbial communities vary across boreal moss species and the extent to which local site conditions may influence the composition of these bacterial communities. We used marker gene sequencing to analyze bacterial communities associated with seven boreal moss species collected near Fairbanks, AK, USA. We found that host identity was more important than site in determining bacterial community composition and that mosses harbour diverse lineages of potential N2 -fixers as well as an abundance of novel taxa assigned to understudied bacterial phyla (including candidate phylum WPS-2). We performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to assemble genomes from the WPS-2 candidate phylum and found that these moss-associated bacteria are likely anoxygenic phototrophs capable of carbon fixation via RuBisCo with an ability to utilize byproducts of photorespiration from hosts via a glyoxylate shunt. These results give new insights into the metabolic capabilities of understudied bacterial lineages that associate with mosses and the importance of plant hosts in shaping their microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Holland-Moritz
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Julia Stuart
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Lily R Lewis
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Samantha Miller
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Michelle C Mack
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | | | - Noah Fierer
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
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